2 Chronicles 21:1-23:21, Romans 11:13-36, Psalm 22:1-18, Proverbs 20:7
Today is the 28th day of July, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible, I’m Brian, it is wonderful to be here with you today. As we move through the center of a week together and continue our journey through this year. So, we are continuing to work our way through the book of 2 Chronicles, we’re reading from the New English Translation this week. Today, second Chronicles chapters 21, 22 and 23.
Commentary:
Okay, let’s talk about getting honest. Let’s talk about…well let’s just think back over the last say 18 months. Isn’t it funny like 18 months ago or a little longer than that, this idea of a pandemic and all that stuff, that was just not really on our radar and then a whole year of it and we’re kinda coming out the other side of it? But things aren’t really exactly the same, and even, even when we’re trying to get back to what we would call normal, if we look back at what normal was, it wasn’t really normal. We had all kinds of struggles and stuff that we were facing then. It felt like the world was at absolute warp speed so we couldn’t even hardly catch our breath. And then this thing came and we got still for a second but our idea of kinda going back to normal is how busy, like how full can I make things, how can I numb things by activity? How can I just keep running so I don’t have to face anything? That brings us to this idea of honesty. What we see in the Psalms today is pretty, pretty famous because it’s words that Jesus spoke while dying, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Why have you abandoned me?” Right, and then the Psalm goes on, “Why are You so far away when I groan for help? Every day I called to You my God, but You do not answer. Every night I lift my voice but I find no relief.” That’s quoted out of the Bible. And it’s not taken out of any context. Like, that’s the first two verses of Psalm 22. That’s how the Psalm opens. It sets the context. When we hear those kinds of words confessed, maybe not spoken eloquently like that, when we hear that sentiment, what is going on? Where is God? I’m confused. So often we’ll like pull out scriptures, like well don’t you know greater is He that’s in you than he that’s in the world. Like, we…we try to use the, the Scriptures to offer words of encouragement by stating truths and the person who feels far away or abandoned or in grief or pain or agony of some sort, usually, we would receive the council of the Scriptures right. Usually we, we affirm what it’s telling us in an encouraging us in some way so that we can lead our heart out of our feeling, but so often we’re invited to fake that it’s not really happening that this isn’t how we’re supposed to feel. So, we deny that it is how we’re feeling. And so, can I read Psalm 20:21-22 again? “My God, my God, why have You abandoned me? Why are You so far away when I groan for help? Every day I call to You my God, but You do not answer. Every night I lift my voice but I find no relief.” This was penned by the king of Israel, the great musician and poet David. It was also quoted from the cross of Christ. It has to be okay then to say these words, to describe this date occurring within our hearts. It’s not a permanent stay forever and ever. But we go through these kinds of things and we fake it and we numb in all kinds of unhealthy ways instead of just simply being honest and releasing it to God. Let it out, this it’s what is happening inside of me even if I know this is what supposed to be happening. This is what is happening. I cry out to release this and be honest about this. Otherwise, we just numb and numb and numb and this…it stays in us. Like it just stays there in ways that we can’t find any more. It becomes the ball of anxiety that is nameless and constant because it is this accumulation of stuff that we’re stuffing. The Bible certainly does encourage us. It certainly indeed does tell us of our identity and what that means. But as we can see from today’s reading, it is also giving us permission to be honest about what’s going on. This entire Psalm is just so full of honesty. David said You brought me safely from my mother’s womb. And You led me to trust You at my mother’s breast. I was thrust into Your arms at my birth. You have been my God from the moment I was born. Don’t stay so far from me, for trouble is near, and no one else can help me. That’s honest. This Psalm doesn’t kind of turn its way into something that it’s not it just is what was in his heart when he wrote it down and it has stood the test of time because it has reflected seasons of our lives ever since. It’s honestly human experience, and David concluded right, no one else can help me and maybe that actually is the key. Because haven’t we been learning all along the Bible is teaching us many things but one key thing is that the safest place to possibly be is to be hopelessly and utterly dependent upon God. And that the things that we try to construct an erect in our own strength, there fallible, they fall apart. Eventually, we can’t do this without God. And so, for David to cry out, and absolute honesty while acknowledging there is no one else to help me. This is like the bottom of it all. This is…this is where the upturn begins. When we feel like we’ve gone down into the valley again and we reached that place of awareness. Only God can help me. That is painful is that season or that experience might be. We have actually then found what we were looking for. Only God can help me, but God can help me. And so, if that’s where we find ourselves the let’s press into that reality, and that truth because that…well that changes the atmosphere. It’s like once we reach that point, that’s the end of the bottom.
Prayer:
And so, Father we acknowledge that coming to the end of ourselves, we struggle and we fight and we fight and we fight to not surrender and so, so often we get ourselves into things that simply crush us into surrender when it could’ve been willful all along, we could’ve been walking with You. And Father there are things that come and blind side us and we’re tipped upside down or sideways and we don’t know what’s going on anymore and so we cry out to You because no one else can help, and we acknowledged that, and then instead of looking at that as some kind of we’re abandoned here and alone, we look at it as, we finally found what we we’re looking for. We finally realize that there’s only one place of safety. So, come Holy Spirit into our broken hearts and heal us because You are a healer, You are a Redeemer, restore what is broken in us so that we might give our wholeness back to You. We pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
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And that’s it for today. I’m Brian and I love you. And I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.
Prayers and Encouragements:
Hi, this is Lynn from Louisiana calling for Denise from Denver. I heard her call yesterday and it really touched my heart. So, with that being said, I wanted to read to her 2 Corinthians 1:3 and 4, Praise to God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of our comfort. He comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction through the comfort we ourselves receive from God. I felt so led to read that because I know the pain that she’s feeling being also the mother of a deceased child. So, I wanted to reach out to her and to say that God has comforted my heart and he is comforting my heart. My son will now be dead, it will be 17 years this October and I can honestly say that God has been with me all the way. And Denise, I know that He will do the same for you. So, it is my prayer that He would wrap His arms around you and that you would so feel His presence. That without a shadow of a doubt that you’ll know it’s Him. That He would comfort your heart the same comfort that He’s comforted me. And I’m praying this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior who loved us and gave Himself for us all. Be blessed Denise. In Jesus name. Amen.
Prayer waves like the waves of the sea, no matter where you stand, no matter when you call in, no matter when you hear whether ankle-deep, knee deep or chest deep in the sea or in the cares of this world the waves keep coming. In the morning, at night when the sun is high in the sky. The waves of prayer never die down. Once you lay your cares at the foot of the cross or the shore of the sea the prayers never stop like the waves of the sea. Hey my DAB family. I am way behind like 30 days and the Community Prayer. But what just overwhelmed me today is that I heard Dorothy from Delaware lift me up from a request that I made a month ago or two months ago. And that just…it just dawned on me that how blessed we are in this community with this particular app and how we pray. And that those prayers continue day after day, morning, night and evening at different times of the month, all across this globe. I’m just blown away. Anyway, today I am prayer waver J from the Everglades wishing all a very blessed day.
Morning Daily Audio Bible family my name is Shana, I’m calling from Saskatchewan, Canada. I’m asking for prayer for my boyfriend. He’s been charged with a crime that de did not commit. And we are both God-fearing people. We both believe in Christ, and we just…we’re just beside ourselves. We, between the two of us, we have six young children who are going through this with us and it’s just unthinkable that he would be accused of something like this. I guess I’m just asking for prayer and I’m asking the Lord for guidance and wisdom. Whether it’s to help support him, help support his kids, his family, my kids, myself. I just…we’re looking for prayer. Yeah, I don’t know we’re kind of stuck, it’s gonna be a long road. Canada’s justice system takes long time. Thank you. Thank you, Lord, for giving us life, even though it’s a struggle. In Jesus name. Amen.
This is Cathy from Kentucky. I’d like to ask for prayers for protection over the meeting places in treatment centers where alcoholics and addicts. We had a Corona outbreak and one of the treatment centers and also one of the meeting spaces. So, these are sacred places for recovery and we ask protection. If alcoholics and addicts cannot meet in person they may relapse, so we ask for your protection over that. Thank you, Cathy from Kentucky.
Good afternoon DAB family God Bless you all. A woman called in and said this is your first year going through the Bible and you lost your hubby to cancer unexpectedly your brother and the family dog. You have two boys and a daughter and I am praying for the Comforter to be with you as you are navigating through life without these people that you’ve loved, your husband, your brother and your family dog, you know. I am praying for the Lord to just bless each and every one of you. I am praying for a career job to be given to you in the name of Jesus. I am praying in the name of Jesus for a new place to live, you know. And a new beginning on your life for you and your children in the name of Jesus. Hally Heart praise report thank you Jesus you know that you’re no longer on those meds and we are our own worst enemy Hally. You know we really are; we condemn ourselves you know for things that Christ died to forgive us so that we may have our redemption and our salvation in Him. You know so there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus. And I’m so thankful for the DAB platform. And to be there for you when you needed it as it has been for me and so many others. Diane, from Denver, I am so sorry for the passing of your daughter 5 weeks ago. I can’t imagine that pain. The fear of losing a child has tormented me so I am so sorry that you are going through that. And know that I am carrying you deep in my heart and I am praying for you. And I am praying that the Lord, your God, our God, my God, is comforting you in the way that only He can. Because in the flesh I don’t even imagine how that could be comforted but with God I know it’s possible. So, we have to hold on to that truth. I love you. Esther from Kissimmee.